Monday, December 22, 2008

When I was little my parents didn't give me too many sweets. The pediatrician had told them that if I didn't have them, I wouldn't develop a taste for the sweet stuff. And it all seemed to be working according to plan until I found a box of chocolate covered cherries hidden under my nana's chair when we were visiting our grandparents for Christmas. I wasn't much older than 3 when I made the discovery...which I promptly stole away with and hid out behind the chair. I was caught not too much later after my slurping sounds gave me away...but not before I bit all the tops off every chocolate covered cherry in that box! From then on I've fostered and nourished quite a sweet tooth...but chocolate covered cherries are still a favorite!

I frosted these chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate covered cherry center with dark chocolate frosting (my favorite!) Aren't they cute?

I came up with this idea for a cupcake after this month's Iron Cupcake challenge was to create something that included chocolate with a "twist." I'm not 100% satisfied with the end results so I won't actually end up entering them...I tried freezing the chocolate covered cherries but they still resulted in sticky cupcake liners. I might have to find away to get the chocolate covered cherry taste without taking the easy route of actually using chocolate covered cherries!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Gift giving can get out of control easily. And this year, moreso than years past, I've really been making an effort to cut back and cut costs. So I've been doing a lot of baking for some yummy homemade gifts...really, I think it is just as nice to get something that shows someone invested time rather than money!

These are some of the cupcakes I made to pass out to my coworkers as Christmas gifts. I got individual cupcake boxes to put each one and everyone seemed to think that was super-cute! I had intended to make Red Velvet cake with Cream Cheese Frosting...but that tanked (don't ask)....so instead we ended up with Spice cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

About Me

I'm the wife of my best friend and mommy to a beautiful baby girl. We have an adorable golden retriever that makes us laugh daily. I love cooking and entertaining and enjoying the weather in the sunshine state!